‘It’s devastating’: seven dead identified in Georgia dock gangway collapse

3 months ago

New details have emerged in the catastrophic collapse of a dock gangway on a small island in Georgia over the weekend that killed seven people and injured many more.

The collapse, which caused at least 20 people to plunge into the water, occurred after the Cultural Day festival on Sapelo Island in honor of Gullah Geechee culture. Officials say that up to 40 people were standing on the dock gangway to board a ferry back to the mainland when the structure gave way.

The coroner’s office confirmed the names of the seven dead victims as Jacqueline Crews Carter, 75, Cynthia Gibbs, 74, Charles L Houston, 77, William Johnson, Jr, 73, Carlotta McIntosh, 92, Isaiah Thomas, 79, and Queen Welch, 76.

McIntosh’s granddaughter, Atiyya Hassan, spoke to Atlanta’s Channel 2 about her grandmother’s legacy as a retired schoolteacher who lived in Jacksonville, Florida.

“I don’t think the shock has worn down yet,” Hassan told the broadcaster. “But my grandmother was 92 years old. She lived a very full life.

“I wanted people to know she’s vibrant, 92-year-old woman. She was independent. She lived by herself. She got tens of thousands of people registered to vote. She was very active in her community,” she said.

Houston had served as a chaplain for the Georgia department of public safety and Georgia department of natural resources. Georgia’s public safety department memorialized Houston in a statement.

“Dr Houston served our agency faithfully since 1997, offering unwavering support during critical times and providing guidance to our Trooper and MCCD Schools’ cadets. A retired Methodist minister, he devoted his life to serving others across Georgia, particularly within the law enforcement community, and showing compassion to everyone he encountered,” the statement read.

Houston is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and their two children.

Sapelo Island is about 60 miles (100km) south of Savannah, Georgia. About 700 people traveled to the island for the Cultural Day festival, which was organized by the few dozen residents of Hog Hummock.

Jazz Watts, a Hog Hammock resident attending the celebration, told the Associated Press that he witnessed first responders and civilians pulling people from the water and trying to administer CPR.

“It’s devastating,” Watts said. “When you see people being carried that are wrapped in blankets and they have died.”

Ed Grovner, a ferry worker who helps connect the island to the mainland, told AP that he first noticed the disaster when his ferry pulled up to the dock and he saw life jackets being tossed in the water.

Grover said his crew was able to reach a man and a woman, but both were already deceased.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Grovner said. “My wife said I was sleeping, I was hollering in my sleep, saying: ‘I’m going to save you. I’m going to save you. I’m going to get you.’”

Hog Hammock is a small African American community located on the island which is descended from enslaved island populations known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia.

The community’s separation from the mainland has allowed residents to retain much of their African heritage, such as their distinctive cuisine and unique method of basket weaving.

Georgia’s department of public safety confirmed that as of Sunday, three people remain hospitalized following the collapse.

Walter Rabon, commissioner of the Georgia department of natural resources, said an accident reconstruction team was working to determine what caused the “catastrophic failure” at the dock, which is operated by the state of Georgia and was rebuilt in 2021. The team is working in cooperation with the Georgia bureau of investigation.

“There should be very, very little maintenance to an aluminum gangway like that,” Rabon said.

Grovner told the AP he complained to a ferry captain months ago that the gangway didn’t seem sturdy enough, but nothing happened.

Rabon told the news agency he wasn’t aware of any prior complaints.